Located in:
- Employment and Training Programs Under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Programs Authorized Under Section 6(d)(4) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2015(d)(4)))
- a. General Requirements [27]
The State agency must prepare and submit an Employment and Training (E&T) Plan to its appropriate Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) Regional Office. The E&T Plan must be available for public inspection at the State agency headquarters. A State agency may include its plan for the SNAP E&T program in a Combined Plan under WIOA but will require FNS approval prior to implementation and must continue to make a copy of the plan available for public inspection. If a State includes SNAP E&T in a Combined Plan under WIOA, the State agency will detail the following for each year covered by the Combined Plan:
[27] 7 CFR § 273.7(c)(6)
- a. General Requirements [27]
a. 11. The relationship between the State agency and other organizations it plans to coordinate with for the provision of services, including organizations in the Statewide workforce development system, if available. Copies of contracts must be available for inspection;
Current Narrative:
Indiana’s workforce development system includes the Department of Workforce Development (DWD) that administers the Department of Labor (DOL) programs and all other public, for-profit, and non-profit entities delivering employment and training services. At this time, the relationship between DWD, the local workforce investment boards, and Division of Family Resources is limited, but there are efforts in place to increase both communication and potential partnership. Two key strategies include co-location (physically, embedded or iterant staff members, or virtually through a chatbox feature) and co-enrollment.
On April 11, 2019, DFR executive staff attended a meeting with Indiana workforce partners. Included in this meeting were discussions regarding: Roles and responsibilities of required WIOA partners; cost sharing; agreements between workforce partners; Indiana WorkOne Centers; how partners are working with WorkOne centers. We hope to formalize cross-training of WIOA Core Programs, TANF, and SNAP eligibility and program allowances from the senior staff level at the state agencies to the frontline staff at the WorkOnes and other offices.
At this time, the bulk of the relationship between workforce partners and DFR is coordinated on a county by county basis by DFR’s employment and training provider, MAXIMUS. As a way for Indiana to maximize its resources in the talent development space and reduce duplicated efforts, IMPACT will coordinate more closely with WorkOnes regarding training and education. IMPACT participants have the option to pursue co-enrollment in Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) programs in the local Indiana Department of Workforce Development WorkOne office. WorkOne programs complement activities already assigned to the participant. IMPACT services are administered through FSSA (Division of Family Resources) and WIOA services are administered through the Department of Workforce Development.
WIOA Title I services focus on the needs of Adults, Dislocated Workers, and in-school & out-of-school Youth. WIOA Title II provides Adult Education for those individuals without a high school diploma and/or deficient in basic skills. Title III, Wagner-Peyser, provides employment services to any Hoosier. Title IV is Vocational Rehabilitation, which is administered by the Family and Social Services Agency, to eligible individuals with a disability. WorkOne staff document program outcomes in DWD’s system of record (currently Track One). WorkOne offices also provide services under Unemployment Insurance and may have state, local, or private grant funding to offer specialized services.
While some of the services are similar, each program designs the specific components to meet the individual needs of the customer (or participant) and the associated outcomes of each program. Some individuals may be eligible to participate in both programs (WIOA and IMPACT) allowing the participant to tap into the unique offerings of each program based on program policies.
DWD has identified five priority that offer employment opportunities in high-demand and high-wage careers. These priority sectors for Indiana are Advanced Manufacturing, Agriculture, Health Sciences, Information Technology, and Transportation, Distribution and Logistics. To better coordinate services with DWD, the MAXIMUS Employer Services Team and Training Liaisons focus on the same sectors, especially when identifying vocational training and skills development opportunities.
Since the passage of WIOA, DWD has established a priority of service policy that requires that each workforce development area to enroll 50% or more of adult participants in one of the priority categories (i.e. recipients of public assistance, other low-income individuals, or individuals who are basic skills deficient). The MAXIMUS Career Development Team seeks to capitalize on this priority of service, working closely with WorkOne to support WIOA eligibility determinations for SNAP participants, as well as collaborative assessment processes, and case management coordination and integration. By leveraging and integration of resources from multiple programs, the IMPACT program can support the development of a skilled workforce.
Other Employment Programs
- TANF, General Assistance, etc.
- Coordination efforts, if applicable
Indiana operates an employment program for TANF participants. No TANF client will receive SNAP E&T services.
IMPACT will initiate coordination efforts with the following employment programs:
- Next Level Jobs and the Workforce Ready Grant: Next Level Jobs is part of Governor Holcomb’s Next Level Indiana agenda to continue the positive momentum and improve the state’s workforce for employers. As part of the initiative, the 2017 General Assembly approved funds for Indiana’s Workforce Ready Grant program to provide free training for working-age Hoosiers in the state’s highest demand jobs. These industries have higher median salaried jobs and are rapidly growing in Indiana including Advanced Manufacturing, Building & Construction, Health & Life Sciences, Information Technology & Business Services, and Transportation & Logistics. MAXIMUS Training Liaisons refer IMPACT participants to this funding as another source for those SNAP E&T participants who wish to engage in training.
- Vocational Rehabilitation: Employment and training services through Vocational Rehabilitation (VR), a program of the Family and Social Services Administration’s (FSSA) Bureau of Rehabilitation Services (BRS), are also available to SNAP voluntary participants who are disabled. Vocational Rehabilitation Services are offered in all 92 counties. Vocational Rehabilitation is an engaged partner to increase educational access to job-seekers that may need VR services and supports to be successful in other state and federal programs. VR is able to provide services to assist with barriers stemming from an individual’s disability that assists in access to existing programs or aids in successfully completing a program.
- HUD Employment and Training Programs: The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grants out Federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) dollars to the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA). OCRA uses this funding to administer the Workforce Development Program (WDP), which provides Indiana communities access to resources to develop and maintain a high quality workforce increasing the skills and capacity of current and future members of Indiana’s workforce.
- Job Corps: Indiana has two Jobs Corps Centers: Atterbury and IndyPendence. These centers offer no-cost education and career technical training programs administered by the U. S. Department of Labor. These programs are intended to help young people, ages 16-24, improve the quality of their lives through career, technical, and academic training. These centers also offer other services, such as, career planning, on-the-job training, job placement, food service, driver’s education, health and dental care, a bi-weekly basic living allowance and clothing allowance. A Job Corps representative participates on the work-based learning taskforce of the State Workforce Board and is on the local workforce development board and the youth advisory committee in the Regions where Job Corps facilities are located. MAXIMUS will collaborate with Job Corps IndyPendence for recruitment in the Marion County offices.
- Trade Adjustment Assistance programs (TAA): Through DWD and its WorkOne system, Indiana utilizes Rapid Response events for entities and worker groups that have identified the need through the filing of a TAA petition. When available, the state provides onsite, and at other offsite locations, Rapid Response information sessions. These sessions include the dissemination of TAA information including; procedures for filing, benefits, and other necessary information. Indiana uses Rapid Response funds to deliver this information to all groups regardless of their affiliation.
- Unemployment Insurance: The Worker Profiling Reemployment Services (WPRS), Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessments (RESEA), and Jobs for Hoosiers (JFH) programs capture unemployed Hoosiers at the fourth week of their claim and include: UI eligibility review, claimant-centered labor market information, referral to a self-directed job search, and an orientation to the one-stop services. In addition, REA participants complete an Individual Reemployment Plan (IRP) and receive additional services such as job search workshops, job search assistance, employment counseling, and referrals to other employment services.